Monthly Archives: September 2012

NCPP staff attended a press conference organized by Assemblyman Jerry Hill at the Boys & Girls Club of San Mateo to celebrate Governor Jerry Brown’s signing of Assembly Bill 1301: Retail Tobacco Sales: STAKE Act, authored by Hill. This law would require the State to suspend or revoke tobacco retail licenses for stores that are repeatedly caught selling tobacco to minors. Assemblyman Hill celebrated by holding a press conference alongside Youth Leadership Institute, San Mateo County Tobacco Education Coalition, Breathe California, and Asian American Recovery Services, who have collaborated extensively in previous years to research and document the problem of underage youth access to tobacco products. Among the educational displays was a collection of several packs of cigarettes purchased by underage members of the Stay Safe Youth Coalition (SSYC) of Asian American Recovery Services as part of a research project demonstrating the ease with which tobacco products can be accessed by minors. SSYC youth conducted these purchases with adult supervision as part of years of work pushing for stronger Tobacco Retail License (TRL) laws locally. Together with Youth Leadership Institute, the San Mateo Tobacco Education Coalition, Breathe California, and Assemblyman Jerry Hill, SSYC youth of the now retired Stay Safe Program of Asian American Recovery Services can celebrate an important milestone in their legacy of tobacco policy advocacy. With continued collaboration with our partners, we hope to continue making important strides in the fight against tobacco. Congratulations!